CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES - UNITED STATES CATHOLIC CONFERENCE OF BISHOPS

TENDER FOR HIRING A CONSULTANT/FIRM FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NATIONAL CHILD DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (NCDA) STRATEGIC PLAN (2025 – 2029)

TENDER NOTICE FOR HIRING A CONSULTANT/FIRM FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL CHILD DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (NCDA) STRATEGIC PLAN (2025 – 2029)

CRS-Rwanda 007- FY26-TN/2026

1. Background and Context

The Government of Rwanda (GoR) recognizes that children are the future of country. The GoR also recognizes the importance of children growing up safe, protected and within family-based settings.

Early childhood development (ECD) is critical for lifelong health, education, productivity, and well-being. Yet, 250 million children under five in low- and middle-income countries risk not reaching their potential due to poverty, malnutrition, and violence. Evidence shows that investing in ECD yields high returns, with benefits including improved health, learning outcomes, and reduced intergenerational poverty.

In Rwanda, the child protection system is evolving, with growing focus on harmonizing laws, strengthening prevention and response, and promoting children’s rights. Achieving children’s full developmental potential requires coordinated action across sectors, child protection, WASH, food security, and social protection, making multisectoral collaboration essential for sustainable, high-quality ECD programs.

2. Rationale 

The GoR established the National Children’s Development Agency (NCDA) with the overall vision of ensuring that every child has access to comprehensive, integrated, and quality care, being protected, and able to participate, which allows for their full survival, growth, and development. The NCDA Strategic Plan 2018-2024 brought together key sectors, including health, nutrition, ECD, WASH, Food Security, Child Protection, and Social Protection under one strategic umbrella to provide a comprehensive approach to programming for children in Rwanda. It identifies evidence-based multisectoral intervention packages, programmatic delivery platforms, implementation strategies, and activities (national and sub-national) for the national agenda for children. 

The Strategic Plan set out six Strategic Directions for the NCDA. For each Strategic Direction, key outcomes, outputs, and activities have been identified.

• Strategic Direction 1. Children are well nourished, healthy, and able to thrive
• Strategic Direction 2. Young children reach their developmental and learning potential
• Strategic Direction 3. Young children & adolescents are safe, well cared for, & empowered to full participation & making the right choices
• Strategic Direction 4. Vulnerable households with children under five years old and pregnant and/or lactating mothers, and ECD facilities have access to food security, social safety nets, and basic sanitation and hygiene services.
• Strategic Direction 5. Integrated frontline delivery is strengthened (community-based platforms)
• Strategic Direction 6. The enabling environment is improved

In light of the above, NCDA, in partnership with the Catholic Relief Service (CRS) and other partners, has decided to undertake the design of its new strategic plan aligned to the national strategy for transformation 2 (NST2). The plan will come after the evaluation of the current strategic plan, which will serve as the foundation for the development of the new strategic plan as a direct and continuous process.

The next iteration of the strategic plan 2025-2029 will consider NST2 priorities across sectors' contribution to the NCDA mandate, with the consideration that Nutrition, ECD, and Child protection are adequately reflected in the sector strategic plans (SSPs) that feed into NST2, where reduction of stunting and enhancing quality basic education are among the GoR high level priorities. Additionally, the new SP will explore emerging opportunities in the IECD sectors and beyond and propose required strategies to improve the IECD services at all levels. To this end, with support from the CRS, the NCDA is hiring an individual consultant (individual or consultant firm) to design its new strategic plan aligned to the national strategy for transformation 2 (NST2).

Below is key preliminary work that will be considered in the process of the Strategic Plan development: 

• Desk review of existing national policies, strategies, NST2, vision 2050, surveys, and assessments;
• A Mid-Term Review of the NCDA strategic Plan was conducted in 2022.
•  The final evaluation of the NCDA Operational Plan 2018-2024 is expected to be finalized by November 2025
• expected to build upon the findings from the MTR and explore effective implementation of MTR recommendations.
• Ahead of the development of the new strategic plan, a series of thematic, consultative retreats took place in late 2024/early 2025 that led to the definition of the priorities for the new strategic plan. The final evaluation is expected to generate learning that can support the development of these priorities in the next strategic plan.
• NCDA will do its best to gather and share required and available documents and data with the evaluators during the inception phase.

 for more details regading the consultancy  please find the attachment bellow